Cuerpo de Sanidad
The Cuerpo de Sanidad (Medical Corps) provides medical support for the Ejército Nacional. Army Medicine is almost entirely limited to the practice of military medicine (i.e. - treating battlefield casualties) in the theater of operations (TO). Outside the TO and all other fields of medicine, the Corps relies on the support of the civilian National Health Service. There are, however, vocal factions both in the NHS and the Army who want to change this arrangement. Some Army planners want a complete medical branch to make the Army autonomous, and some NHS leaders want exclusive purview over all aspects of military medicine. But while these voices are loud, they are a minority. The current, mostly amicable, working arrangement between the two medical organisations has existed over many years, and nothing is likely to change soon. One practical effect of the current arrangement is that Army Medical personnel usually have little to do in their chosen field of battlefield trauma unless there are soldiers actually engaging the enemy somewhere. Therefore, many Army Medical personnel are regularly assigned to NHS hospitals or clinics. When needed, these personnel are swiftly transferred to their pre-positioned equipment and deployed to the field as an Army Medical unit. Fields of Service of the Medical Corps It takes a team of health care professionals for the Medical Corps to provide “Best care anywhere” in the field for the Army. Thus the Medical Corps is actually made up of 5 different Fields of Service. While the respective field commands are responsible for the deployment and administration of the Medical Unit, the individual fields on the other hand is responsible for the training and doctrine of the various professionals within their field. While one may argue that the current Corps is not as comprehensive enough when compared to the other health care organizations, one must not forget that the Medical Corps only focuses on Military Medicine. *1) Medical *2) Nursing *3) Medical Specialist *4) Combat Medic *5) Medical Services Medical Commands The Medical Corps is organized and divided into 3 Commands for administrative and deployment purposes. Each Command is commanded by either the Deputy or Assistant Surgeon-General. Comando de Apoyo de Combate (CAC) The Combat Support Command provides detached medical personnel to field units. For example, every Infantry or Combat Engineer Platoon has one C-Medic assigned to it as the platoon medic. Personnel attached to the units are usually considered organic to the units and under their direct operational command. The CSC Headquarters is the only unitsized organization within the command. They are responsible for all matters of coordination, training, assignments and support, etc. They are also responsible for the coordination and training of combat lifesavers in the unit. Most all other assignments in the CSC are given to only one or two detached Medical Personnel at a time. CSC Personnel generally undergo cross training in the Service Branch where they will serve. For instance, C-Medics will attend Armour School before field assignment with a Armoured Platoon. For this reason, Medics are usually highly respected by the units they support. Comando de la Unidad Médica (CUM) The Medical Unit Command is responsible for all the personnel and equipment, which deploy as Medical Units. CSC personnel in their disparate assignments actually make up about half of the Medical Branch, but are not assigned en masse as medical units. The MUC is the next largest command and are responsible for the various Medical Units. These are the Medical Forward Support Battalions and Divisions. Mobile Field Hospitals are also under this command. When not in training or operational duties, MUC personnel are often assigned to serve in NHS facilities while not deploying as Army Medical Units, but all are pre-assigned to units with prepositioned equipment in various places throughout the State. This is to ensure that their medical skills are always relevant and maintained to the highest level. On a moment’s notice, these personnel will be reassigned from their NHS posts to join up with their equipment and deploy wherever needed. On average, these units can be on station and operational within 72–96 hours. Comando de Capacitación, Investigación y Doctrina (CCID) The Training, Doctrine and Research Command are responsible for the training and education of Medical Corps personnel from all 5 fields. They develop doctrine, establish standards, and research to meet the demands of the Army. The Escuela de Medicina Militar (School of Military Medicine) is the cradle of all Medical Personnel and provides training through a full spectrum of courses, from basic to advance and also post-graduate studies in military medicine. This Command also works closely with Support’s Corps Research and Development department relating to research on all medical and physiological aspects of soldier performance. Links *Bexar *Ministerio de la Guerra *Fuerza Armada Nacional Category:Military of Bexar